MCP Shodan vs Contrastapi

In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP Shodan and Contrastapi MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose MCP Shodan when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
• You have access to required keys: SHODAN_API_KEY.
• Primary tools included: ip_lookup, ip, shodan_search.

Explore MCP Shodan Details

Choose Contrastapi when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
• You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: 55 MCP tools for security intelligence, CVE, CWE, EPSS, and CISA KEV lookups, Domain, IP, IOC, and OSINT investigation.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	MCP Shodan BurtTheCoder Security	Contrastapi UPinar Security
Summary	MCP server for querying the Shodan API and Shodan CVEDB. This server provides tools for IP lookups, device searches, DNS lookups, vulnerability queries, CPE lookups, and more.	Security intelligence API with 31 MCP tools for CVE/EPSS/KEV lookup, domain recon (DNS/WHOIS/SSL/subdomains/CT logs), IOC/threat intel, OSINT (email/phone/username), and code security scanning (secrets, injection). Free 100 req/hr.
Category & Scope

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "burtthecoder-mcp-shodan": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@burtthecoder/mcp-shodan"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHODAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_SHODAN_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "upinar-contrastapi": {
      "url": "https://api.contrastcyber.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

Related MCP Server Comparisons